


It's Hard To Sightsee When Your Partner Breaks A Window

by jennserr



Series: The Misadventures of Avengers Initiates [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Lesbian Character, Mentioned Clint Barton - Freeform, Mentioned Natasha Romanov - Freeform, Mentioned Nick Fury - Freeform, POV Lesbian Character, POV Transgender Character, Pre-Avengers (2012), Pre-Canon, Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S., Project Pegasus, Super Soldier Serum, Tesseract, The Tesseract (Marvel), alternate POV, black widow's daughter, computer hacker, genetic experiments, transgender character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-08-31
Packaged: 2018-04-18 08:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4698368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennserr/pseuds/jennserr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valeriya Romanov is technically Black Widow's daughter, enhanced with a version of the Serum. Serra Barton is Hawkeye's extremely gay hacker niece. </p><p>Both are Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. </p><p>Both are teenagers.</p><p>What could possibly go wrong?</p><p>Join "Wild Card" and "Halo" as they travel the world on mission after mission, getting in and out of trouble as they do, and generally being the best teenage agents S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever seen. This time, they're in Cairo, Egypt, finishing up a mission that they should have completed days ago to retrieve important files related to Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. If all goes well, they can get back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters without a scratch and with the stolen files in hand. If not...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. POV - Serra

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, there is a perfectly logical explanation as to how Natasha Romanov has a biological daughter, but it will be explained in full sometime around the fifth or sixth 'chapter' in this saga.
> 
> If you feel like you've read this before, skip to the notes at the end.

"Okay, so you're going to need to somehow get that security guy’s access card.”

“What? Why? Can’t you just open the doors for me?”

“I mean, I probably could if we had more time,” I told my partner as I brushed my dark blue bangs out of my eyes and squinted at the screen. “And, you know, if their code wasn’t so weird. I can barely understand it.”

“Didn’t you once tell me that you had yet to find a commercial server that you couldn't hack?” she asked.

“I didn’t say I couldn’t hack it, just that it would take time. Time that we don't have, because someone couldn’t keep an eye on his precious project.”

To say that I was frustrated would be an understatement. For starters, I don’t know why we were the first agents called in for this mission. Sure, Romanov and Barton (well, the other ones) were busy elsewhere, but there are plenty of others they could have chosen instead of us. Second, we'd had to come here straight from Jerusalem, giving us hardly any time to rest. And third, there was something about the code that was just...off. I’d never seen it before, but that didn't mean I couldn't get around it. At the very least, I’d already managed to tap into the camera feeds, and was in the process of trying to find the codes that dealt with the restricted access doors.

If only I could use a multi-screen setup. As it was, I was working off of a 14” laptop, which meant that I had to have the security feed in a small window in the top right corner while I tried to work the code with the rest of the screen. Of course, this was the one time I’d forgotten to bring what I fondly called The Roving Guru, my portable hacking hotspot, back in Jerusalem, because we were in such a hurry to get out of there. So here we were, continuing our original mission, now in Cairo.

“You know Fury,” Valeriya mused over the comms, followed by a drawn out sigh. “Let’s just get this over with so we can get back to HQ. The sooner the better.”

“Yeah. Definitely.” I glanced towards where my screen showed the video feed, and clicked through a few of the different cameras. “Okay, so the good news is, there aren't really many guards on the first floor. They're mostly higher up, or in the underground levels, with all the good stuff.”

“What’s the bad news?”

"Well, you're still gonna need to get past the first guard without taking him down. At all.”

“God dammit.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance. Just, go in, pull the ‘lost dumb tourist’ card, and swipe his card while he isn't looking.”

“Serra, I’m not exactly dressed like a tourist.”

“Okay, well, maybe try and secude him or something. He doesn’t look much older than 23, so it should be easier.”

“How about this,” she supplied. “I go in, knock him out, then take his card and go?”

I made a disapproving sound. “Well... Okay, fine. Just, take him into the bathroom or something first, so nobody finds him.”

“Yeah, because they totally wouldn't find him in a bathroom,” she sassed.

“Either that or a maintenance closet or something, I don't know. There’s a reason I don’t go out in the field very often.” That, and I sucked at fighting. I could do some undercover work, but there’s really only so much that a 15-year-old agent can do when they're not even technically an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

“But wait a little bit first, let me get a loop going.” It would take about a minute or two to record footage from the cameras in the lobby, mostly of the guard. After that, it was as simple as stopping the cameras from transmitting to the security center, and instead broadcast the loop. Of course, I'd still be able to see what was going on, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t need to in a short while.

“Okay, you're clear to go. Remember—”

“Lost tourist, seductress, don’t kill him, yeah yeah, I got it. Don't worry.”

“I do worry, because your mom’ll probably kill me if I let you die.” It's not exactly easy working with the daughter of one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s top agents. I mean, I’m not saying that she’s difficult (well, she certainly can be), more so the added stress of making doubly sure that she doesn't get in trouble.

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Valeriya opened one of the tall glass doors and entered the lobby, looking very convincingly like a confused lost tourist separated from her family. Even looking through black and white cameras, and from what I could see of her, I could easily tell how bright her hair was, especially in contrast to her black tactical clothes. As short as she was, though, I only caught glimpses, which really helped keep her out of sight of any security guy watching the lobby tapes. And, unfortunately (or thankfully), the cameras don't pick up audio, so the only voice I hear at first is Valeriya's.

“Um, hi, can you help me? I’m trying to find, uh...” Valeriya looked down at her phone. “Maadi Cafe to meet up with my family.” She looked back at the guard. “Can you please tell me how to get there?”

The guy actually looked almost happy at the request, as he gave her a wide smile as he stood up. My guess was he was extremely bored and was happy to have something to do. That, or he had other, less savory thoughts about Valeriya. If it was the latter, this would be a piece of cake.

His lips moved as he walked around the desk to stand next to Valeriya, and as she held out her phone with her right hand, I saw her begin to reach her other hand around behind her. “Yeah, my phone doesn't have data here, so I couldn't find it on Maps,” she was saying.

“The card’s on the belt above his right ass cheek,” I supplied, and saw her hand move to where I had said. “An inch to the right- there you go.” Well, that was actually pretty easy. “Now get rid of him, but don’t hurt him.”

“Great, thanks so much!” she said to the guy in as honeyed and sugary a voice as possible. “Um, before I go, could I use the bathroom? I just realized I really have to go.”

This time, I could hear his voice through Valeriya's earpiece. It was actually a nice voice, not raspy or super deep. “Sure! Just go down that hall,” he pointed to the one to the right of the front desk, “and take the first hall on the right. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you!” Valeriya smiled sweetly at the guy, then made for the hallways as fast as she could go without seeming to be in too much of a hurry, long hair swishing with each step. Under her breath, so that that the guy couldn’t hear her, she said, “Is he staring at my ass?”

I switched cameras. “Yeah...”

She added an extra little sway to her hips with every step, and even I couldn't help but stare for a second, before I remembered what we were doing. “Alright, I’ve already set up a loop for the halls, so you're still invisible. I’ll tell you when he's no longer looking, then make for the stairs in the northeast corner of the building. I’m gonna try and find what floor the files are on.”

I set the target parameters of my custom search program—one I’d written myself for just such an occurance—to search for anything related to S.H.I.E.L.D., recently aquired files, Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S, and Tessaract within the system, then set the target date to anytime in the past few days. By the time Valeriya had made it to the stairs, I had a hit.

“20th floor, southeast corner, office number 20-60. You're probably going to need to get a special key card to get in, which you can get off any exec you run into.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she replied, and I heard the faint echo of her footsteps as she took the stairs three at a time. I'd already set the loop for the stairwell, so she was in the clear. As long as nobody decided to come down the stairs, anyways.

Which someone did. Just our luck. “Wait, hold on, someone just entered your stairwell on the 10th floor.” She was currenltly paused a few steps below the 8th, waiting for an all-clear or list of options. “He...looks like he might be an exec. See if you can get his card.”

With that, she was off, practically flying up the next flight and a half before slowing down and dropping into a half-crouch. The guy was pacing around the landing on the 10th floor, holding a cup of coffee in his left hand and a phone to his ear with his right, obviously talking to someone in a private setting. Valeriya waited a moment, and the second his back was to her, I said, “Go.”

He didn't stand a chance. She took two giant steps, then leaped into the air, effortlessly bringing herself parallel to and then above the man's head. She came down hard, a knee on top of each shoulder, at the same time knocking the phone out of his hand. She clamped a hand over his mouth as they went down, effectively muffling his scream. I couldn't get a clear view of what happened in the next several seconds, but from the way the man's body started out thrashing and then eventually stopping, I'd guess she had cut off his air supply.

“Please tell me he’s only knocked out.”

“Don't worry,” she replied, already retrieving his card. “He still had a pulse. He should wake up by the time I’m out of here.”

“Let’s hope so.”

The next 10 flights of stairs passed by quickly, and before I knew it she was standing next to the door leading to the 20th floor. “What’re we dealing with?”

I clicked out of the code editor and switched to fill my screen with every camera along the way to the office. I hissed. “You’re going to have to get past an open cubicle area, and I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do about the cameras.” I sighed. “Sorry. You're on your own from here.”

“Goddammit Barton,” she muttered. I watched and heard her take a deep breath, then straighten her back, lift her chin, and open the door.

“Just don't kill anybody unless you have to,” I gently reminded her as she walked calmly down the hall towards the office. Nobody had seen her yet on this floor—I checked the cameras again to be sure—but that would change in seconds. Somehow, she’d need to bullshit her way past any inquiring workers, but of course her best bet was to act natural, and not to act suspicious. Not that she needed reminding.

Thankfully, nobody really noticed her when she walked by. I did see a few pairs of eyes follow her for a few seconds, but they resumed their work just as quickly.

It was only when we got to the door that the problems started.

She pulled the second key card she’d obtained from her belt and swiped it across the keypad—I use keypad in the loosest of ways—but instead of flashing green and unlocking, the little light at the top stayed red. We both frowned. She swiped the card again, but nothing new happened. Calmly, she put the card back in her belt and fished out the one she'd nabbed from the guard on the first floor. That one didn't work either.

“I thought you said this would work,” she hissed into her earpiece.

“I did too. Most likely, you’ll need a card from someone on that floor. I might even be able to unlock it from this side, if I have time.” I minimized most of the cameras to the corner of my screen and quickly brought up the code. But, as was the case before, I didn't have an easy time reading it. I tried searching for anything that dealt with the 20th floor, or with security codes, but... Nothing.

“How much longer?” Valeriya whispered, and I saw that she was glancing around nervously.

“Um, five, ten minutes or so. Why?”

“People are starting to stare.”

I checked the feeds from the main floor; she was right, people were starting to notice her—not that she was inconspicious, but no matter how many times I tried to convince her to dye her hair a darker, less noticeable color than bright red, she’d adamently refused. One of the men closest to her was on the phone, glancing between her and the hallway. I switched to some feeds of the stairs and elevators, and sure enough, two guards were on their way up. They'd be here in 30 seconds.

“Shit,” I muttered. That wasn't nearly enough time. “You've got less than a minute.”

“How many?” she asked quietly.

“Only two, but I have a feeling more will be on their way soon, especially if these guys don't like you.”

“Fuck it,” she said, and before I could ask what she was about to do, I saw her take two steps back, turn slightly, then take a running kick at the door, planting her foot right by the handle. Besides just opening the door, it had the added effect of producing a large cracking sound that made everyone in the room flinch, and for panic to ensue.

“Where is it?” she asked as she rushed into the office, quickly scanning the visible surfaces.

“Try the drawers on the desk.”

She darted around the side of it and quickly began rifling through the cabinets. Ten seconds later, she’d found it. “Got it. Give me an exit.”

I checked the cameras. “Rush the guards then get to the stairs. There’s only a few more in the stairwell. If you hurry, you can get to the ground before they realize you're dangerous.”

Just as she left the office, however, an alarm began to blare. “Fuck,” I swore, just as Valeriya asked, “What the hell is that?”

My eyes flicked over the security feeds. “Shit. Not good,” I mumbled. Then, louder, “Get out of there, Romanov. Get the hell out of there right now.”

She didn't waste a second. As soon as the words left my mouth, I watched her sprint down the hall and towards the guards, who were caught very much by surprise. To his credit, one of them was reaching for the pistol strapped to his hip by the time Valeriya got to them. The cameras didn't do agood job of capturing the action, but I saw enough to know that she'd knocked him over with a flying kick, and then swept the second guy’s legs out from under him from where she had landed on the floor. She hit him in the sternum for good measure, then went back to the first guy, who was just getting up from where he'd landed a good ten feet away. She made quick work of him, using a similar maneuver to the one she’d used on the man on the 10th floor, though this time she practically wrapped herself around his upper body before flipping his weight around and throwing him into a wall.

She made it to the stairs in short order, and was able to get down to the 15th floor, before I realized our mistake. “Shit. Stairs aren't an option anymore. They just blocked the stairwell exits on the first ten floors, and they're getting the rest now. Get out, get out now, before they trap you in there.”

She burst through the door on the 15th floor in time to see five guards running towards her. This time, instead of rushing them and taking them all on, or waiting for them to get to her, she closed the distance between them, sprang up, and jumped over all five of them; in fact, she used one of them as a sort of springboard, pushing off of his shoulders with her hands in order to complete the roll and land on her feet a few feet behind them. As soon as she touched down, she was off again, running towards the main floor.

“What are you doing? There’s no exit on the southern side of the building!”

She didn't respond, just kept running. Then I heard gunshots wizzing by her, and I think I might have heard one of them hit it's mark—Valeriya let out a hiss, and I saw her steps faulter slightly. But it didn't stop her, and a few seconds later she—

She jumped out of a fucking window. She jumped out of a 15th story window.

For a few short seconds, the only sound I heard over comms was the rush of wind, but then there was a thud, followed by something that sounded very much like someone performing a roll to soften their landing.

“Hey, look, I found an exit,” she remarked casually.

 

* * *

 

“In our defense, we didn’t have much time between Jerusalem and Cairo,” Valeriya said.

Agent Mark Thomas, our Supervising Officer, sighed loudly. “You didn't have any other options. No backup plan. Nothing.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again. “I expected better from you two, especially you, Barton.”

“You try hacking a code you can’t make sense of,” I retaliated. “I’m still amazed that we managed to pull it off relatively unscathed.”

“Relatively,” Valeriya muttered.

“And, hey,” I pointed out, “we managed to get the Phase 2 files back in record time.”

Thomas said nothing for a full minute. Probably deciding if we needed to be punished or praised.

“Fill out your mission reports and deliver them to me before you leave the building,” he said with an air of finality. He turned and walked towards the door of the briefing room, then turned back as he opened it. “I’m glad you made it out safely.”

And that was that.

“Thanks for patching me up back at the hotel,” she said as we left the room.

“Eh, no big deal. It’s not like it’s the first time you've been shot on a mission. At least the bullet only grazed you, unlike last time.”


	2. POV - Valeriya

Standing on the sidewalk in all black clothes made me glance around far more often than I would normally on a mission. It was hot in the Egyptian sun, and Barton was taking too long. “Okay, so you’re going to need to somehow get that security guy’s access card,” she told me at last.

I frowned, forcing myself to keep my tone even. “What? Why? Can’t you just open the doors for me?”

“I mean, I probably could if we had more time. And, you know, if the code wasn’t so weird. I can barely understand it.” There was irritation clear in her voice over the comms and I resisted the urge to kick the side of the building.

“Didn’t you once tell me that you had yet to find a commercial server that you couldn’t hack?” What was the point of having a hacker for a partner if they wouldn’t be doing any work?

“I didn’t say I couldn’t hack it, just that it would take time. Time that we don’t have because _someone_ couldn’t keep an eye on his precious project,” she shot back. She was frustrated, more than I was. She was still getting used to missions where they leave us out of the loop. I’d been raised into this, trained by the best. Romanov and Barton were largely responsible for that, though they were currently assigned on the other side of the world.

I put thoughts of the older agents out of my mind, focusing on the current mission. There was no way around the heat of standing around outside in my modified suit, the black and grey material meant for stealth and durability rather than waiting around the Middle East. “You know Fury,” I sighed. Being his favorites had some drawbacks, I suppose. “Let’s just get this over with so we can get back to HQ. The sooner the better.” I tapped my foot impatiently. This was taking too long.

“Yeah. Definitely,” my partner agreed, obviously distracted by something on her screens. “Okay, so the good news is, there aren’t really many guards on the first floor. They’re mostly higher up, or in the underground levels, with all the good stuff.”

Typical. “What’s the bad news?”

“Well, you’re still gonna need to get past the first guard without taking him down. At all.”

I did kick the wall in irradiation then. “God damn it.” This was turning into the slowest, most boring mission I’d ever been on.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance. Just, go in, pull the ‘lost dumb tourist’ card, and swipe his card while he isn’t looking.”

Easy for her to say, she’s not the one that has to do it. Not that any of that was difficult but “Serra, I’m not exactly dressed like a tourist.”

She was silent for a second while she thought. “Okay, well maybe try and seduce him or something. He doesn’t look much older than 23, so it should be easier.”

I frowned. Not that it wouldn’t be incredibly easy--with my mother's red hair, and with the light dusting of freckles I’d inherited from my absent father, I was something easily sought after--but I wasn’t Natasha. “How about this,” I countered. “I go in, knock him out, then take his card and go?”

Serra made a rather alarming sound of disappointment. “Well… okay, fine. Just, take him into the bathroom or something first, so nobody finds him.”

I bit back a snort of amusement. “Yeah, because they totally wouldn’t find him in a bathroom.”

“Either that or a maintenance closet or something. I don’t know, there’s a reason I don’t go out in the field very often.” That was true, Barton didn’t do that great in the field. She was fairly good at logistics in action, but completely hopeless in combat, despite her strength. Her undercover work was severely limited. “But wait a little bit first, let me get a loop going.” I tapped my foot again, needing to move. At this rate I’d need to run back to DC to sit still. The few minutes it took to record and broadcast the loop to the guards felt like an eternity. “Okay, you’re clear to go,” she told me at last. “Remember-“

“Lost tourist, seductress, don’t kill him, yeah, yeah, I got it. Don’t worry.” I took a second to let my braid down, letting my wavy hair fall down my back.

“I do worry, because your mom’ll probably kill me if I let you die.” Her tone was somewhere between sassy and genuinely fearful. I smirked. Natasha wouldn’t go after Serra, she’d go after whatever’d killed me. Not that I see that being a problem any time soon- or ever.

Barton was quiet as I took a breath and pulled open the door to the building. Stepping inside I put on an air of confusion, looking around the lobby wide eyed. In reality I’m counting the camera, the possible exit points in case something went wrong. I pick my way around people to the security desk, glancing between my phone and the man.

“Um, hi, can you help me? I’m trying to find, um…” I looked at my phone, though the screen was dark. It didn’t matter, he couldn’t see the screen. “Maadi Cafe to meet up with my family.” I looked up at the guard. Serra’d been right, he didn’t seem older that early twenties and spoke surprisingly clear English. Which was a relief, my Arabic was not very good. “Can you tell me how to get there?” I leaned on the counter, pushing out my chest to hold his attention.

“Yes, of course. No problem,” he told me with a smile. He moved around the desk to stand beside me, and I handed over my phone, the screen finally displaying a map. I didn’t have to look at him to know when he looked down at me he was more interested in my cleavage than my meeting with my “parents”. I held my phone in my right hand, my left kept out of his line of sight. “My phone doesn’t have data here, so I couldn’t find it on maps,” I told him, looking up at him sweetly through my lashes.

“The card’s on their belt above his right…” Serra was trying to be helpful, but I largely tune her out when there’s more words than necessary. Without moving my torso I reached around, ”An inch to the right- there ya go.” I’d have to remind her about the talking. Grabbing the card and pocketing it before nodding at what the man was saying. “Now get rid of him, but don’t hurt him.” Fun ruiner.

I was still smiling at him. “Great, thanks so much!” The overly sweet voice making me want to be sick. I really just wanted to punch him. It wasn’t his fault, most people didn’t assume I was just sixteen. “Um, before I go, could I use the bathroom? I just realized I really have to go.” I held his gaze, biting my lower lip just slightly in an attempt to look slightly embarrassed. Why does everything in the goddamn building have to be under so much security?

“Sure! Just go down that hall, and take the first hall on the right. You can’t miss it.” He was pointing but I already knew where I was headed. I was about to get this guy fired, I felt a little bad. He seemed nice for someone working under an evil corporation.

“Thank you,” I told him again sweetly. I turned away from him, letting my smile drop. Despite the low security presence on this floor and how easy he’d been to manipulate, I didn’t want to draw too much attention. I already looked out of place. “Is he staring at my ass?” I already knew, but I heard keys click as my partner switched cameras.

“Yeah..” she said at last. I sighed, adding a sway to my steps that forced me to walk a little slower but likely kept the guards focus on me instead of what I was doing. Serra was silent for another moment. “Alright, I’ve already set up a loop for the halls, so you’re still invisible. I’ll tell you when he’s no longer looking, then make for the stairs in the northeast corner of the building. I’m gonna try and find out what floor the files are on.”

The second I’d turned the corner I stopped. I took the few seconds I had to hastily rebraid my hair, there was no way I’d take the risk of it getting caught in a door or providing a convenient hold for any enemies I ran into. I’d just reached the door to the stairs when Serra’s voice was in my head again. “20th floor, southeast corner, office number 2060. You’re going to need a special key card to get in, which you can get off any exec you run into.”

I slipped into the stair well and grinned. Finally, I get to do something. I started up the steps, my braid swinging back and forth as I ran. “Sounds like a plan.” I kept track of the floors I passed. In a building like this, with so many floors, no one took the stairs. They were just for emergency evacuation so when Barton’s voice said wait, I froze. I still had twelve floors to go and not a lot of time.

“He… looks like he might be an exec. See if you can get his card.”

That was all the invitation I needed. It took just a few seconds to climb the flight and a half to where he was on the tenth floor landing. Before coming into sight I dropped silently to a crouch. He was talking on his cell, clearly agitated over whatever his personal affair was. The coffee in his other hand apparently forgotten as he argued. “Go,” Serra told me when his back was to me.

Two quick steps and I was on the landing and then off of it, easily tossing myself into the air. I imagine he would have been surprised if I could have seen his face. I landed my knees on his shoulder, kicking the phone out of his hand with a practiced motion. Too much sound would attract security, so I held a hand over his mouth as he toppled. He struggled weakly against me though I’d effectively cut off his ability to speak- and breathe- as I locked my arms around his neck. It took less than a minute to render him unconscious.

“Please tell me he’s only knocked out…” Serra’s concern for humanity was endearing.

“Don’t worry,” I assured her as I relieved the man of his access card. I stepped around the spilled coffee and started back up the stairs. “He still has a pulse. He should be up soon after I’m outta here.” There weren’t any more unplanned run-ins as I climbed the last ten flights. I paused outside the door to the 20th floor. “What’re we dealing with?”

I heard her keyboard clicking while she double checked my position. “You’re going to have to get past an open cubicle area, and I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do about the cameras.” She sighed, and I resisted the urge to do the same. “Sorry, you’re on your own from here.”

“God damn it, Barton.” No matter, I’d completed countless missions on my own. I took a deep breath. Shoulders back, back straight, chin up… I swung the door open and stepped inside.

“Just don’t kill anybody unless you have to,” was the only reminder she gave me.

The floor was just offices, people working at computers or answering phones. My age and clothes were big indicators I didn’t belong, but no one stopped me. I glanced around at cameras and again took note of possible exits. There weren’t a lot. The elevator across the floor, the stairs I’d come from, maybe another set of elevators down the hall. While people glanced at me, it was only momentary.

I swiped the card I’d stolen from the man on the tenth floor across the panel, but the red light still blinked at me. I frowned. This could go very wrong very quickly. I swiped it again but there was no change. I could feel the anxiety creep in, but I forced my features calm. I had the training for this, no need to panic. I switched the useless card out for the one I’d taken from the security guard who’d been so eager to help. I held my breath as I swiped it. Nothing. “I thought you said this would work,” I hissed knowing Serra would hear it.

“I did too. Most likely you’ll need a card from someone on that floor. I might even be able to unlock it from this side, if I have time.” She fell silent and I knew she was pulling up the code yet again. I resisted the urge to fidget but glanced around at the rest of the floor.

“How much longer?” Too long, no doubt.

“Um, five, ten minutes or so. Why?”

 _Why? Don’t ‘why’ me, you should know why. Because I’m standing outside a locked office in a foreign country dressed like **this**._ I didn’t say any of that though, because it wouldn’t help the situation. “People are starting to stare,” was what I went with instead.

“Shit,” she muttered. “You’ve got less than a minute.”

“How many?”

“Only two, but I have a feeling more will be on their way soon. Especially if these guys don’t like you.”

I closed my eyes for half a second to think about it. “Fuck it.” I backed up a little, just enough to get momentum, and struck out with my leg. The kick wasn’t all that powerful, but my foot caught the door just beside the handle and the wood splintered with a crack. People flinched, and I guessed there was a veritable shit storm going on behind me, but the door was open. Panicking office workers wasn’t in the scope of the mission. “Where is it?” I was already inside, methodically scanning what I could see in plain sight.

“Try the drawers on the desk.”

Once I pulled the drawers open, it took only seconds to locate. Not very well hidden for something so top secret. Though I suppose with our side being the ones that originally lost the damn thing, I didn’t have a lot of room to speak on the matter. “Got it. Give me an exit.”

“Rush the guards and get to the stairs. There’s only a few more in the stairwell. If you hurry, you can get there before they realize you’re dangerous.” That’d be their mistake. I was out of the office and halfway across the room before-

“What the hell is that?”

An alarm was blaring- I gave them credit on having one. Though next time I’d suggest they have it set to go off when someone gets _in_ not when they’re on their way out. “Shit. Not good.” I wonder if she realizes I can hear when she talks out loud. “Get out of there Romanov. Get the hell out of there _right now_.”

I didn’t bother responding, or even really waiting till she was done speaking. She generally didn’t use my name unless something was going down. I was down the hall in seconds, guards looking rather shocked as I came towards them. One reached for the pistol they had holstered at their hip, but he never got a chance to draw it. My forward momentum made it easy to leap at him, kicking him square in the chest. He flew backwards and I stayed low as I landed, giving me a chance to quickly knock the next man’s legs out from under him. He fell, and I landed a blow harder than I intended against his sternum. It was hard to feel bad when he was standing between me and my escape, however. The first guy was finally getting to his feet again from where he’d been knocked several feet away. _You should have just stayed down_. I jumped onto a chair before cartwheeling off the desk that kept him separated from me. One hand caught his shoulder, the other wrapping around his neck as I swung my body around his torso. The force of my legs swinging back around threw his center of gravity off and instead of letting him fall, I dropped and pushed off of his back- sending him into the far wall.

I didn’t wait to see if he got back up, though I doubted he would. I was practically flying as I sprinted down the stairs. I hadn’t gone far when I hear Barton swearing again. “Stairs aren’t an option anymore. They just blocked the stairwell exits on the first ten floors, and they’re getting the rest now.” I didn’t feel the need to answer. Her repeated urging to simply ‘get out’ was easier said than done, seeing how she was the one safe in a hotel room across the city. Oh, Thomas is going to _hate_ this…

In a split second decision I threw open the door to the fifteenth floor and wasn’t surprised to find guards coming at me. Five of them. I didn’t have time to deal with them, I needed to get out. I didn’t slow down as they got closer instead choosing to take the easy way around, or, well, over. I leapt up, using the tallest as a means of propelling myself further. _Shit_ , I’d misjudged the distance and hit the ground with uneven footing. Not wanting to lose my stride, I ducked forward. I rolled quickly over my shoulder and was immediately back on my feet running towards freedom.

“What are you doing?! There’s no exit on the southern side of the building!” Barton would have to wait as I heard a gunshot.

Which was promptly followed by more. That’d been the gamble with not taking them out. I was halfway there when I felt the piercing burn that let me know one of the bullets had managed to find its mark. I was too focused to waste energy shouting but my strained exhale came out as a hiss as I missed a step. No time to stop and worry about it now, it was time to get out. I leapt forward again, the glass shattering upon impact. The fall was short, though the rush of wind made the small cuts on my face from breaking the window sting a bit. The roof of the next door building was close now, and I hit it rolling to absorb more of the impact.

I couldn’t help but grin. “Hey, look, I found an exit.”

 

* * *

  
“In our defense, we didn’t have much time to prepare for the mission.” It was a weak excuse as they go. I think that while we’d just been thrown into this one, my training should have made this go more smoothly.

I’d been right, our supervising officer had been less than thrilled with my decision to jump from a fifteen story window in broad daylight. Thomas could handle a lot of odd missions but this one was pushing it. He sighed loudly, “You didn’t have any other options. No backup plan. Nothing.” I couldn’t tell if he was stating it for the record or simply reminding himself that these things occasionally happened. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed again. “I expected better from you two, especially you, Barton.”

I stood still like training dictated while Serra looked a bit surprised. Normally I was the one getting that line thrown around. “You try hacking a code you can’t make sense of! I’m still amazed we managed to pull it off relatively unscathed.”

My side still burned vaguely from the bullet wound I’d acquired. “Relatively.”

“And, hey, we managed to get the phase two files back in record time.” Did all the Bartons have to be so snarky at inappropriate times?

Thomas was quiet, deciding how the punishments would go down if there were any. “Fill out your mission reports and deliver them to me before you leave the building.” I gave a stiff nod. I know an order when I hear one. He turned back to us before leaving the briefing room. “I’m glad you made it out safely.” I allowed myself a smile, shooting a sidelong glance to my partner.

Mission accomplished.

**Author's Note:**

> There may be a number of readers who have read a version of this before. If you are one of those readers, know that this is (and the other 'chapters' following are) not the same works that you read. The previous works were posted with little regard to continuity with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Age of Ultron, and as such changes have been made. 
> 
> Please let us know what you think in the comments! What did you like or not like? What do you think could be improved upon? We realllllly appreciate reader feedback to let us know how we're doing!


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